For many teenagers, the path from high school and directly into college is relatively smooth. An 18-year-old with supportive high school counselors and help from parents can find their way to a college or university with a little effort. However, for someone who delays college for just a few years and accumulates responsibilities like a…
The SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference was held Mar. 30 at State Technical College in Linn, Missouri. The conference allows students to put their technical abilities to the test in skilled and written competitions — and once again, OTC students shined. The college had 54 students place in different contest areas, resulting in 34…
Ozarks Technical Community College graduate Bryanna Shaffner never thought of herself as a trailblazer for women in the workplace — she was just looking for a good job. But when Springfield’s Stainless Fabrication Inc. (SFI) hired Bryanna as a welder in 2019, she was the company’s first female welder. “It was a little nerve-wracking at…
OTC recognizes how harmful domestic and dating violence, stalking and sexual assault can be ─ and how they can create barriers for OTC students to succeed academically and personally. Our students don’t have to face these barriers alone. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which makes it the right time to review the help available…
While attending Ozarks Technical Community College, Dr. Kyle Cottrell met his future wife in his Spanish class. That is the best of the positive things that happened to Kyle while attending OTC, but it wasn’t the only good thing. “OTC was a chance for me to rewrite my academic history,” Kyle said. Kyle says he…
The last time the Ozarks Technical Community College choir was scheduled to perform in New York City was in March 2020. “We were on our way to the airport, and the college called me and said, ‘Things are shutting down. You can’t go to New York,” said Alberta Smith, OTC choir director. A little more…
Herschend Entertainment owns amusement properties all over North America, but its roots and founders are firmly planted in the Branson area. Jack and Peter Herschend founded Silver Dollar City in 1960, and for most of the company’s first 50 years, Jack Herschend was the company’s President, Chairman and CEO. Despite his success and the success…
Dr. Trish White welcomes students to her calculus class at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday and dives right in with an equation. “What would have to be true for the numerator and denominator to be greater than zero?” White asks. The class is like any traditional math class, but only two students sit in front…
In a recent State of the Student survey, 55% of undergraduate college students said they struggle to remain interested in their classes. A quarter of students said they would be more interested if instructors could relate the course material to their future careers. When Ozarks Technical Community College Instructor MaryAnn Morris needed to develop a…
Many people can recall a classmate who turned every notebook, folder or handout from the teacher into an art project. Those serial doodlers viewed any blank space as an unfilled canvas ready to be adorned with flowers, cartoon characters, animals and geometric patterns. American authors Jack Kerouac and Mark Twain were well-known doodlers, and archivists…
If you Google “Famous high school dropouts,” the names of celebrities like Harry Styles, Ryan Gosling and Drew Barrymore come up, but most high school dropouts don’t become movie stars or pop singers. In fact, high school dropouts are twice as likely to live below the poverty level than high school graduates. Having lived for…
Students in Ozarks Technical Community College’s Graphic Design Technology Program earned 25 medals at the 2023 Addy Awards. The event recognized the top advertising of 2022 for the Heartland Chapter of the American Advertising Federation. The 2023 Addy Awards were held on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Downstream Casino near Joplin, Mo. Overall, OTC students brought…
On Feb. 8, 2023, OTC technical education students brought home a total of 70 medals from the annual Southwest Missouri SkillsUSA District Competition. The district held contests in nine separate locations, including OTC, with almost 500 students competing from eight different career centers and tech centers. Competitors showcased their abilities, completing written and skilled hands-on…
Creating opportunities for student success, collaboration and employment was the theme when faculty and staff convened for Ozarks Technical Community College’s fourth annual Innovation Celebration on February 21, 2023. The gathering was the first Innovation Celebration held in person since the inaugural event in 2020. OTC’s full-time employees got together at the White River Conference…
When Lebanon-based manufacturer DT Engineering became the first tenant of the industry partner space inside the new Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing last fall, it paid off almost immediately. The company found an experienced employee among the Ozarks Technical Community College students taking classes in the PMC. DT Engineering hired OTC student Ben…
Congratulations to our Fall 2022 Chancellor’s List, Provost’s List, and Dean’s List recipients! Students who complete 12 or more credit hours in a fall or spring semester are eligible for the Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List. Recognition is based on the grade point average during that semester. The Dean’s List requires a GPA of 3.5…
Everyone has seen the motorized shopping carts at the grocery store for shoppers who have limited mobility. But what if a customer comes to the store in a wheelchair? They have to get out of their wheelchair, get into the motorized shopping cart, and then, what happens to their wheelchair while shopping? Plus, they must…
The first season of esports at Ozarks Technical Community College far exceeded expectations. That’s the assessment of the college’s esports advisor, Dr. Tiffany Ford. “We definitely had more students than we expected,” Dr. Ford said. “The competitive esports team is as large as we can manage right now.” Esports launched at the college in the…
We don’t live in a Monday-through-Friday world. Families, jobs and community duties sometimes make it difficult for students to take classes at traditional times. OTC has developed a suite of Saturday courses that allows students to maintain their life responsibilities while moving closer to their goals. Developed to accommodate the needs of our busy students,…
In higher education, it is a common practice to offer science survey courses to non-science majors. While the official names for these courses may be “Basic Physics,” they are often referred to as “Physics for poets.” Most colleges offer several “for poets” courses, which feature wide-ranging technical concepts and little math. However, there is no…
The 2022-23 school year marks the fifteenth year of operation for the Middle College at Ozarks Technical Community College. In 2007, Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Norm Ridder approached then-new OTC Chancellor Dr. Hal Higdon with an idea to lower the high school dropout rate and help credit-deficient students get back on track. The Middle…
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” Ozarks Technical Community College graduate Kaila DeJonge has suffered, and she has found meaning. In 1999, at just six months old, another driver hit the car carrying Kaila, her mother and two older sisters.…
Ozarks Technical Community College trustees and administrators honored the 2022 Excellence in Education Award recipients at the November Board of Trustees meeting. Candidates were nominated by staff members and selected by a college-wide committee. Each winner was presented with a plaque and monetary award, made possible by a donation from the Turner Family Foundation. Full-Time…
Ozarks Technical Community College announced Nathan Summerfield as this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Student Veteran Award during the college’s annual Veterans Day ceremony, held Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. OTC’s Outstanding Student Veteran Award is presented annually to a student in good academic standing with an honorable service record. The student’s personal conduct, contributions, and…
You might have been surprised to discover you have a college navigator. “What is a college navigator?” might be the follow-up question, so here’s what you need to know. “All OTC students now have a college navigator to support them with long-term financial and academic planning,” says Steve Fouse, College Director of Student Success. “The…